tukatz:So the old coot was impersonating a police officer by showing everyone his radar gun?

I hope his wife bans him to months of raking leaves and coupon clipping.

Would it be a crime to create a life-size 2d replica (vinyl or wood) of the profile of a cop car and leave it almost-visible on your property? People speed on my street all the time, and my driveway is situated in such a way that I could hide my "cop car" in it and have it be seen from both directions. I feel like this is probably a crime, just because.

grinding_journalist:tukatz: So the old coot was impersonating a police officer by showing everyone his radar gun?

I hope his wife bans him to months of raking leaves and coupon clipping.

Would it be a crime to create a life-size 2d replica (vinyl or wood) of the profile of a cop car and leave it almost-visible on your property? People speed on my street all the time, and my driveway is situated in such a way that I could hide my "cop car" in it and have it be seen from both directions. I feel like this is probably a crime, just because.

A few years back, I used to see one outside one of the Maryland State Polic barracks...until some of the locals stole it.

grinding_journalist:tukatz: So the old coot was impersonating a police officer by showing everyone his radar gun?

I hope his wife bans him to months of raking leaves and coupon clipping.

Would it be a crime to create a life-size 2d replica (vinyl or wood) of the profile of a cop car and leave it almost-visible on your property? People speed on my street all the time, and my driveway is situated in such a way that I could hide my "cop car" in it and have it be seen from both directions. I feel like this is probably a crime, just because.

My brother bought a used cop car and put the antennae back on it so that it looked like an unmarked cruiser. He got annoyed with it because people always drove slowly in front of him. People also drove by our house slowly. It's completely legal unless you try to pull some one over.

I don't know that the image of a cop car would be legal though. Just go blow a couple thousand on a worn out white Impala and stick antennae on the trunk lid and paint the steel rims black. Park it in your driveway. You're good as gold.

grinding_journalist:tukatz: So the old coot was impersonating a police officer by showing everyone his radar gun?

I hope his wife bans him to months of raking leaves and coupon clipping.

Would it be a crime to create a life-size 2d replica (vinyl or wood) of the profile of a cop car and leave it almost-visible on your property? People speed on my street all the time, and my driveway is situated in such a way that I could hide my "cop car" in it and have it be seen from both directions. I feel like this is probably a crime, just because.

My roommates and I used to do this something similar in college once. We filled an inflatable pool, grabbed some cases of beer, and used an old baseball radar gun to entertain ourselves by clocking the cars speeding by. We never got the cops called on us though

Smeggy Smurf:Egoy3k: Not News: 70-year-old man gets bored yelling at people on his lawn. News: Decides to point radar gun at traffic to slow them down. Fark: Finds out radar gun can be mistaken for a real gun

Only by morons.

Morons or pigs but I repeat myself

Don't insult pigs like that. They're wonderful animals, with intelligence and character and BACON!

grinding_journalist:tukatz: So the old coot was impersonating a police officer by showing everyone his radar gun?

I hope his wife bans him to months of raking leaves and coupon clipping.

Would it be a crime to create a life-size 2d replica (vinyl or wood) of the profile of a cop car and leave it almost-visible on your property? People speed on my street all the time, and my driveway is situated in such a way that I could hide my "cop car" in it and have it be seen from both directions. I feel like this is probably a crime, just because.

Not a crime, but you could get in legal trouble if someone's sleazy lawyer proves that your creation caused an accident by distracting someone. "And then I ran into those 5 parked cars because I was too busy staring at the squad car and putting my cell phone down."

cgraves67:grinding_journalist: tukatz: So the old coot was impersonating a police officer by showing everyone his radar gun?

I hope his wife bans him to months of raking leaves and coupon clipping.

Would it be a crime to create a life-size 2d replica (vinyl or wood) of the profile of a cop car and leave it almost-visible on your property? People speed on my street all the time, and my driveway is situated in such a way that I could hide my "cop car" in it and have it be seen from both directions. I feel like this is probably a crime, just because.

My brother bought a used cop car and put the antennae back on it so that it looked like an unmarked cruiser. He got annoyed with it because people always drove slowly in front of him. People also drove by our house slowly. It's completely legal unless you try to pull some one over.

I don't know that the image of a cop car would be legal though. Just go blow a couple thousand on a worn out white Impala and stick antennae on the trunk lid and paint the steel rims black. Park it in your driveway. You're good as gold.

you're right. it's true. cop car is a great deterrent. police park outside my house often, i can leave cold beer and cash outside my house and no one will touch it.

-- Rob Cockerham at cockeyeddotcom has a great little story about using a Hot Wheels radar gun to check on local traffic speed. I swear that boy has more fun that a barrel full of monkeys.

Egoy3k:Not News: 70-year-old man gets bored yelling at people on his lawn. News: Decides to point radar gun at traffic to slow them down. Fark: Finds out radar gun can be mistaken for a real gun

Only by morons.

GIS results for "radar gun" show nothing I would mistake for a firearm.

Maybe... MAYBE I could see this as an MP7 out of the corner of my eye in low light settings, IF I was in a paranoid mood, and IF the top lens happened to reflect some light my way and the others didn't . However the context of the situation and neighborhood would probably make me realize that it was not a fire arm.

tukatz:Not a crime, but you could get in legal trouble if someone's sleazy lawyer proves that your creation caused an accident by distracting someone. "And then I ran into those 5 parked cars because I was too busy staring at the squad car and putting my cell phone down."

That's not an excuse that's likely to fly in court. It's still distracted driving if you're paying attention to something else and not where your vehicle is going. You can't sue a radio station if the Morning Zoo DJs make you laugh so hard you lose control and hit a school bus (well, you could, but I doubt you'd win).

"Before police knew the situation was not high-risk, the man was on his knees, hands handcuffed behind his head, with two officers pointing their weapons at him, police reported."

The new cops are f'n cowards. They're a disgrace to the oath they "uphold" and I feel no pity towards them when their asses are beaten. I used to want to be a cop... but now, after growing up, I see them for what they truly are. It's one thing to be a cop to truly want to protect people... it's another when you're a military wannabe that only has courage when carrying a gun.

In my line of work, not only do I have to deal with discourteous people, but I have to tolerate it and smile. Cops just beat them down or give them ridiculous charges. And yeah, I've gone for ride-alongs. I dated a girl for 4 years who became a cop during the relationship -- and we broke it off. Why? Because I couldn't take the person she had become. Very few people have any farking idea what courage is anymore.

uncleacid:Didn't Mythbusters prove that hiding behind your car door during a gun fight is not a good idea?

I dont know if they did, but it is not a god idea. Car doors are made of an outer panel (usually metal, sometimes plastic or fiberglass, a reinforcing frame (usually metal, but thin, a window crank or motor & frame, and a plastic interior panel. Maybe a side impact beam. All in all in a best case scenario (side beam, window down) it might stop the average handgun round. However, in general its not very solid cover. If used in an emergency it should be abandoned in favor of something more solid very quickly.

Best use of a car for cover is to be on the opposite side from the shooter, keeping yourself low behind a wheel or the engine block.

Funny though, isn't it, how 911 doesn't get jammed with "man pointing gun" reports whenever a real cop is hiding in bushes with a radar gun? It's almost like people do know what a radar gun looks like, and don't waste anyone's time. Unless they're trying to get a neighbor in trouble, or executed, for perfectly legal activity?

If you're driving too fast to tell whether it's a real gun or a radar gun, you're just incriminating yourself for speeding. This just does not add up to a genuine case of concern for anyone's safety, which makes the drawing of real guns to be excessive force, and probably wouldn't have been apologized for if it hadn't made the news.

The cops will "mistake" any g-damn thing they like in order to justify pointing their little hand-held agony and death launchers. And the always get away with it. POW! Oops! Oh, that poor *cop*..... he must be feeling terrible right now. Punishment enough. Widow of the victim? Meh. She should be satisfied that an internal investigation determined there were no violations of policy.

This almost seems like a non story. Probably the only reason it got wrote up is because it's rare that Madison cops draw their guns on anyone. As someone who has no love lost for jackbooted thugs who love their rules just a bit to much most Madison cops are consummate professionals. Good police and all that jazz.

FTFA- "The man politely asked what was going on, and the first officer said there had been reports of him pointing a gun at passing traffic," DeSpain said.

The second officer looked inside the car and saw the radar gun, an older model that still worked."

I could easily see those old bulky models being mistaken for some sort of weapon. And the police were justified drawing their guns on the assumption that some nut is about to start a shooting spree in this case. Basically what we have is an armed case of "Wisconsin nice."

Now the Capital police, a.k.a. Walker's Palace Guard, and cops from Fitchburg, Middleton, and McFarland are much more likely to harass the average citizen just because they are bored or a brown person made the mistake of crossing their path.

The cops got a call about a man pointing a gun at traffic. What are they supposed to do, walk up all nonchalant and ask the guy if he's just a concerned citizen? Unlike most jobs, cops have to be prepared for dangerous situations, and therefore get more latitude on assuming the worst. It's not like they whipped a grenade at the guy; they went in prepared.

/knows most farkers wouldn't call the cops if they saw a guy in a car with a possible gun, because they'd be too busy putting on their SWAT uniform and stocking up on flash-bangs.//or calling in a tactical nuke

Dr. Baird:This almost seems like a non story. Probably the only reason it got wrote up is because it's rare that Madison cops draw their guns on anyone. As someone who has no love lost for jackbooted thugs who love their rules just a bit to much most Madison cops are consummate professionals. Good police and all that jazz.

FTFA- "The man politely asked what was going on, and the first officer said there had been reports of him pointing a gun at passing traffic," DeSpain said.

The second officer looked inside the car and saw the radar gun, an older model that still worked."

I could easily see those old bulky models being mistaken for some sort of weapon. And the police were justified drawing their guns on the assumption that some nut is about to start a shooting spree in this case. Basically what we have is an armed case of "Wisconsin nice."

Now the Capital police, a.k.a. Walker's Palace Guard, and cops from Fitchburg, Middleton, and McFarland are much more likely to harass the average citizen just because they are bored or a brown person made the mistake of crossing their path.

No. Just no. They have the same rules as citizens carrying. You don't draw unless you fear for your life or are witnessing a forcible felony.

Some people in Virginia walk around open carrying just to elicit a police response to see if they respond properly.

Sultan Of Herf:uncleacid: Didn't Mythbusters prove that hiding behind your car door during a gun fight is not a good idea?

I dont know if they did, but it is not a god idea. Car doors are made of an outer panel (usually metal, sometimes plastic or fiberglass, a reinforcing frame (usually metal, but thin, a window crank or motor & frame, and a plastic interior panel. Maybe a side impact beam. All in all in a best case scenario (side beam, window down) it might stop the average handgun round. However, in general its not very solid cover. If used in an emergency it should be abandoned in favor of something more solid very quickly.

Best use of a car for cover is to be on the opposite side from the shooter, keeping yourself low behind a wheel or the engine block.

It's most definitely a BAD idea to hide behind a car door in a gun fight.